Small Things Like These – A Novella

Released in 2021 and winner of the coveted Booker Prize in 2022, Small Things Like These portrays the internal angst of a generous spirit in the form of rural Irish coal merchant Bill Furlong. The simplicity of the prose by novelist Claire Keegan belies the complexity of the main character’s thought process as he struggles with his powerlessness to make the world a better place. Furlong spirals into a state of emotional abyss as he is forced to suppress his do gooder impulses by his limited economic and social circumstances. The novella is a quick read with an unexpected ending that captures the duality and heartache of limited possibilities and the beauty of caring. Keegan’s earlier work, Foster – originally published as a short story in the New Yorker–has been recently released in print format.